Fresh violence over CAA rocks Delhi

New Delhi: The national capital once again witnessed violence and arson over the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act with massive riots taking place in northeast Delhi’s Seelampur and adjoining areas.

Angry protesters demanding the scrapping of CAA torched several motorbikes, pelted stones at police personnel and damaged buses, including a school bus and two police booths when they were stopped from marching beyond Seelampur.

The police retaliated by ordering a baton charge and firing tear gas shells. They even fired some bullets in the air to disperse the protesters.

About 21 people, including 12 police personnel, were injured.

The protest march began in Seelampur around  noon with people raising slogans against the CAA as well as the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Violence reportedly erupted at around 2 pm, when a large crowd of protesters, whose figure is being put between 2,000-3,000, was stopped by the police from moving forward at the Seelampur Chowk.

The situation turned ugly when the crowd started throwing stones at the police.

Plumes of smoke billowed from at least two localities as the stand off continued for around one-and-a-half hours.

Though local residents were seen holding discussions with senior police officers, and mosques were heard making appeals via loudspeaker, asking people to maintain peace and remain calm, two bikes of traffic cops were burnt by the demonstrators.

They also vandalised two local police booths and took away the CCTV cameras installed in them.

The police has detained five people and lodged two FIRs at Zafrabad and Seelampur police stations regarding the violence.

Later in the evening, tension gripped the adjoining Mustafabad area again as a mob started pelting stones at the police.

In retaliation police used tear gas to disperse the mob.